The stock market plunged on Wednesday, snapping a two-day sharp rise, as the risk-averse investors opted for booking profit on quick-gaining stocks.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 53.08 points or 0.75 per cent to 6,996, after gaining more than 117 points in the past two consecutive sessions.
Market analysts said stocks broke the two-day rally as the risk-averse investors went on selling binge on quick gaining stocks amid rising trend of new coronavirous variant Omicron.
A stockbroker noted that trading debut news of Beximco Green Sukuk and Union Insurance also prompted investors to sell-offs.
Trading of Beximco Green Sukuk will start today (Thursday) while Union Insurance will make its debut on January 16 on the bourses.
Stocks witnessed correction due to intense profit-taking as many stocks rose to a lucrative level in the recent rallying capital market, according to a merchant banker.
The risk-averse investors booked profit on major sector stocks as the key index crossed the 7,000-mark in the previous day, he said.
Investors' short-term profit-booking pushed the core index down as the recent short-lived rally in the capital market enticed many investors to sell-off, said EBL Securities.
Five large-cap stocks such as Power Grid Company, LafargeHolcim, ICB, Beximco and United Power, jointly accounted for 40 points down of the DSEX, according to amarstock.com, a market data analyst.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, stood at Tk 16.64 billion, which was 16 per cent lower than the previous day's tally of Tk 19.76 billion.
Two other indices also ended lower. The DSE 30 Index, comprising blue chips, fell 19.87 points to finish at 2,606 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) lost 1.09 points to close at 1,494.
Most of the large-cap sectors posted negative performance with power saw the highest loss of 2.42 per cent, followed by financial institutions with 1.8 per cent, engineering 1.05 per cent, pharma 0.47 per cent, banking 0.25 per cent and food 0.03 per cent.
On the other hand, telecom jumped 2.56 per cent.
Losers took a strong lead over the gainers, as out of 378 issues traded, 243 declined, 88 advanced and 47 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Fortune Shoes, which gained 5.57 per cent, was the most traded stock with shares worth Tk 1.01 billion changing hands, closely followed by Beximco (Tk 982 million), Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (Tk 964 million), Power Grid Company (Tk 778 million) and RAK Ceramic (Tk 682 million).
Lovello Ice Cream was the day's highest gainer, gaining 9.95 per cent while Bangladesh Shipping Corporation was the day's worst loser, losing 9.98 per cent, after soaring 162 per cent in the past one month.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended lower with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -losing 170 points to settle at 20,497 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX-shedding 103 points to close at 12,313.
Of the issues traded, 194 declined, 81 advanced and 23 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port-city bourse traded 15.76 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value of Tk 723 million.
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